1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to illuminated articles and, more particularly, to a decorative assembly for illuminating footwear, garments, hats, and other articles of wearing apparel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of light illuminating devices and assemblies having one or more light emitting elements such as Light Emitting Diode (LED) modules for illuminating a decoration or a design applied, painted or printed on wearing apparel, garments, hats or other accessories is well known. Accordingly, there exist various prior art patents which show such light illuminating devices and assemblies as well as various ways of affixing the LED modules into assembled position to accomplish the desired coaction with such decorations or designs. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,570,206; 4,599,682; 4,709,307; 4,823,240; 4,480,293; 5,113,325; and 5,113,329.
There are also a number of references in the patent literature that depict various methods for incorporating light emitting elements and batteries to energize them into various portions of a shoe in order, e.g., to provide a visually distinctive article of footwear. Heretofore, the light emitting device, as well as the batteries, have been incorporated into the heel portion of the sole of a dress or sports shoe. The rugged, substantially non-resilient construction of the heel provides a sufficient volume to receive and protect the light and battery. When configured with a transparent or translucent portion comprised of a plastic material, such as acrylic resin, plexiglas and the like, the heel can serve not only as a support for the person wearing the shoe, but also as a light conductor or spreader. It has also been proposed to attach a transparent (or translucent), rigid panel member having refractive facets defined therein to the heel region of an athletic shoe to create striking illuminated patterns.
The incorporation of a light-emitting, decorative device into an athletic shoe is complicated, however, by the specific qualities of resiliency, flexibility, and support required of such a shoe during athletic activities. An improperly designed athletic shoe that does not provide the desired degree of support, protection, and comfort for the athlete is unacceptable. Thus, the use of transparent or translucent panel members of the rigid type described above has been limited to the heel region of athletic shoes, where the rigidity of the decorative panel member does not cause discomfort to the wearer. Moreover, rigid panel members are unsuitable for use with articles of wearing apparel such as garments, hats, and the like which may contort or bend many times while the article is being worn.